A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government.[1] At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader (such as a president) rather than by a king or queen".

In a federal republic, there is a division of powers between the federal government, and the government of the individual subdivisions. While each federal republic manages this division of powers differently, common matters relating to security and defence, and monetary policy are usually handled at the federal level, while matters such as infrastructure maintenance and education policy are usually handled at the regional or local level. However, views differ on what issues should be a federal competence, and subdivisions usually have sovereignty in some matters where the federal government does not have jurisdiction. A federal republic is thus best defined in contrast to a unitary republic, whereby the central government has complete sovereignty over all aspects of political life. This more decentralized structure helps to explain the tendency for more populous countries to operate as federal republics.[2] Most federal republics codify the division of powers between orders of government in a written constitutional document.

1.
Separatism
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A common definition of separatism is that it is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy. There is some debate about this definition, and in particular how it relates to secessionism. Separatist groups practice a form of identity politics, political activity, such groups believe attempts at integration with dominant groups compromise their identity and ability to pursue greater self-determination. However, economic and political factors usually are critical in creating strong separatist movements as opposed to less ambitious identity movements, groups may have one or more motivations for separation, including, emotional resentment and hatred of rival communities. Protection from ethnic cleansing and genocide, resistance by victims of oppression, including denigration of their language, culture or religion. Propaganda by those who hope to gain politically from intergroup conflict, Economic and political dominance of one group that does not share power and privilege in an egalitarian fashion. Economic motivations, seeking to end exploitation by more powerful group or, conversely. Preservation of threatened religious, language or other cultural tradition, destabilization from one separatist movement giving rise to others. Geopolitical power vacuum from breakup of larger states or empires, continuing fragmentation as more and more states break up. Feeling that the nation was added to the larger state by illegitimate means. The perception that the state can no longer support ones own group or has betrayed their interests, governments may respond in a number of ways, some of which are mutually exclusive. Settle for a confederation or a relationship where there are only limited ties among states. Some governments suppress any separatist movement in their own country, Ethnic separatism is based more on cultural and linguistic differences than religious or racial differences, which also may exist. Chechen separatism in the Caucasus, currently the Republic of Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation, serb separatism in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. Albanian separatism in Kosovo and R. Macedonia Turkish separatism in Cyprus, South Ossetian and Abkhazian separatism in Georgia. Armenian separatists of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, azeri separatists in Iran want to unite the provinces of East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Zanjan and Ardabil with Azerbaijan. Kurdish separatism in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, silesian separatism in Poland and Czech Republic

2.
Dominion
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Dominions were semi-independent polities under the British Crown, constituting the British Empire, beginning with Canadian Confederation in 1867. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State, and then from the late 1940s also India, Pakistan, and Ceylon. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 recognised the Dominions as autonomous Communities within the British Empire, earlier usage of dominion to refer to a particular territory dates to the 16th century and was used to describe Wales from 1535 to 1801 and New England between 1686 and 1689. At the outset, a distinction must be made between a British dominion and British Dominions, all territories forming part of the British Empire were British dominions but only some were British Dominions. At the time of the adoption of the Statute of Westminster, there were six British Dominions, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, at the same time there were many other jurisdictions that were British dominions, for example Cyprus. The Order in Council annexing the island of Cyprus in 1914 declared that, from 5 November, Dominion, as an official title, was conferred on the Colony of Virginia about 1660 and on the Dominion of New England in 1686. These dominions never had full self-governing status, the creation of the short-lived Dominion of New England was designed—contrary to the purpose of later dominions—to increase royal control and to reduce the colonys self-government. Under the British North America Act 1867, what is now eastern Canada received the status of Dominion upon the Confederation of several British possessions in North America. However, it was at the Colonial Conference of 1907 when the colonies of Canada. Two other self-governing colonies—New Zealand and Newfoundland—were granted the status of Dominion in the same year and these were followed by the Union of South Africa in 1910 and the Irish Free State in 1922. The Statute of Westminster 1931 converted this status into legal reality, following the Second World War, the decline of British colonialism led to Dominions generally being referred to as Commonwealth realms and the use of the word dominion gradually diminished. Nonetheless, though disused, it remains Canadas legal title and the phrase Her Majestys Dominions is still used occasionally in legal documents in the United Kingdom. The phrase His/Her Majestys dominions is a legal and constitutional phrase that refers to all the realms and territories of the Sovereign, thus, for example, the British Ireland Act,1949, recognised that the Republic of Ireland had ceased to be part of His Majestys dominions. The later sense of Dominion was capitalised to distinguish it from the general sense of dominion. The word dominions originally referred to the possessions of the Kingdom of England, oliver Cromwells full title in the 1650s was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, and the dominions thereto belonging. In 1660, King Charles II gave the Colony of Virginia the title of dominion in gratitude for Virginias loyalty to the Crown during the English Civil War, the Commonwealth of Virginia, a State of the United States, still has the Old Dominion as one of its nicknames. Dominion also occurred in the name of the short-lived Dominion of New England, in all of these cases, the word dominion implied no more than being subject to the English Crown. The foundation of Dominion status followed the achievement of internal self-rule in British Colonies, Colonial responsible government began to emerge during the mid-19th century

3.
Federalism
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Federalism is the mixed or compound mode of government, combining a general government with regional governments in a single political system. It can thus be defined as a form of government in there is a division of powers between two levels of government of equal status. Leading examples of the federation or federal state include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, some also today characterize the European Union as the pioneering example of federalism in a multi-state setting, in a concept termed the federal union of states. The terms federalism and confederalism both have a root in the Latin word foedus, meaning treaty, pact or covenant and their common meaning until the late eighteenth century was a simple league or inter-governmental relationship among sovereign states based upon a treaty. It was in this sense that James Madison in Federalist 39 had referred to the new United States as neither a national nor a federal Constitution, thus, this article relates to the modern usage of the word federalism. Modern federalism is a based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments. The term federalist describes several political beliefs around the world depending on context, however, in some countries, those skeptical of federal prescriptions believe that increased regional autonomy is likely to lead to secession or dissolution of the nation. In Syria, federalization proposals have failed in part because Syrians fear that these borders could turn out to be the same as the ones that the parties have currently carved out. Federations such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia collapsed as soon as it was possible to put the model to the test, cultural-historical theories, which hold that federal institutions are more likely to be adopted in societies with culturally or ethnically fragmented populations. Infrastructural power theories, which hold that federalism is likely to emerge when the subunits of a potential federation already have highly developed infrastructures. In Europe, Federalist is sometimes used to describe those who favor a federal government. Most European federalists want this development to continue within the European Union, European federalism originated in post-war Europe, one of the more important initiatives was Winston Churchills speech in Zürich in 1946. In the United States, federalism originally referred to belief in a central government. Constitution was being drafted, the Federalist Party supported a central government. This is very different from the usage of federalism in Europe. The distinction stems from the fact that federalism is situated in the middle of the spectrum between a confederacy and a unitary state. Constitution was written as a reaction to the Articles of Confederation, in contrast, Europe has a greater history of unitary states than North America, thus European federalism argues for a weaker central government, relative to a unitary state. The modern American usage of the word is closer to the European sense

4.
Federation
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A federation is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central government. The governmental or constitutional structure found in a federation is known as federalism and it can be considered the opposite of another system, the unitary state. Federations are often multiethnic and cover an area of territory. The initial agreements create a stability that encourages other common interests, at some time, that is recognized and a movement is organized to merge more closely. At other times, especially when common cultural factors are at such as ethnicity and language. The Old Swiss Confederacy was an example of formal non-unitary statehood. Several colonies and dominions in the New World consisted of autonomous provinces, the oldest continuous federation, and a role model for many subsequent federations, is the United States. Some of the New World federations failed, the Federal Republic of Central America broke up into independent states ten years after its founding, others, such as Argentina and Mexico, have shifted between federal, confederal, and unitary systems, before settling into federalism. Brazil became a federation only after the fall of the monarchy, australia and Canada are also federations. Germany is another nation-state that has switched between confederal, federal and unitary rules, since the German Confederation was founded in 1815, the North German Confederation, the succeeding German Empire and the Weimar Republic were federations. The Russian Federation has inherited a similar system, Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Malaysia became federations on or shortly before becoming independent from the British Empire. In some recent cases, federations have been instituted as a measure to handle ethnic conflict within a state, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq since 2005. The component states are in some sense sovereign, insofar as certain powers are reserved to them that may not be exercised by the central government, however, a federation is more than a mere loose alliance of independent states. The component states of a federation usually possess no powers in relation to foreign policy, however, German Länder have that power, which is beginning to be exercised on a European level. Some federations are called asymmetric because some states have more autonomy than others, an example of such a federation is Malaysia, in which Sarawak and Sabah agreed to form the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia. A federation often emerges from an agreement between a number of separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve problems and to provide for mutual defense or to create a nation state for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former was the case with the United States and Switzerland, however, as the histories of countries and nations vary, the federalist system of a state can be quite different from these models

5.
Confederation
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The 44th World Science Fiction Convention, also known as ConFederation, was held August 28 through September 1,1986, at the Marriott Marquis and Atlanta Hilton in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The convention was co-chaired by Penny Frierson and Ron Zukowski, total attendance for the convention was reported as 5,811 members. The Guests of Honor were author Ray Bradbury and writer Terry Carr, the Hugo Awards, named after Hugo Gernsback, are presented every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. Results are based on the ballots submitted by members of the World Science Fiction Society, other awards, including the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, are also presented each year at Worldcon

6.
Devolution
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Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization, devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority may be temporary and are reversible. Thus, the state de jure unitary. Legislation creating devolved parliaments or assemblies can be repealed or amended by central government in the way as any statute. In federal systems, by contrast, sub-unit government is guaranteed in the constitution, the sub-units therefore have a lower degree of protection under devolution than under federalism. It has six states and two territories with power than states. The Northern Territory of Australia refused statehood in a 1998 referendum, the rejection was a surprise to both the Australian and Northern Territory governments. Territory legislation can be disallowed by the Commonwealth Parliament in Canberra, although Canada is a federal state, a large portion of its land mass in the north is under the legislative jurisdiction of the federal government. This has been the case since 1870, since the 1970s, the federal government has been transferring its decision-making powers to northern governments. This means greater local control and accountability by northerners for decisions central to the future of the territories, Yukon was carved from the Northwest Territories in 1898 but it remained a federal territory. Subsequently, in 1905, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created from the Northwest Territories, other portions of Ruperts Land were added to the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, extending the provinces northward from their previous narrow band around the St. Lawrence and lower Great Lakes. The District of Ungava was an administrative district of Canadas Northwest Territories from 1895 to 1912. The continental areas of district were transferred by the Parliament of Canada with the adoption of the Quebec Boundary Extension Act,1898. The status of the interior of Labrador which was believed part of Ungava was settled in 1927 by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which ruled in favour of Newfoundland. In 1999, the government created Nunavut pursuant to a land claim agreement reached with Inuit. The offshore islands to the west and north of Quebec remained part of the Northwest Territories until the creation of Nunavut in 1999, since that time, the federal government has slowly devolved legislative jurisdiction to the territories. Enabling the territories to become more self-sufficient and prosperous and to play a role in the Canadian federation is considered a key component to development in Canada’s North

7.
Supranational union
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A supranational union is a type of multinational political union where negotiated power is delegated to an authority by governments of member states. The concept of union is sometimes used to describe the European Union. The EU is the entity which provides for international popular elections. The term supranational is used in a loose, undefined sense in other contexts. Another method of decision-making in international organisations is intergovernmentalism, in state governments play a more prominent role. He thought this might begin with the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union and he broached the idea in a November 1945 and November 1947 articles in The Atlantic Monthly that described how the constitution of such an organization might be written. In an April 1948 address at Carnegie Hall, he reiterated, There is only one path to peace and security, the term supranational occurs in an international treaty for the first time in the Treaty of Paris,18 April 1951. This new legal term defined the Community method in creating the European Coal and Steel Community and it defines the relationship between the High Authority or European Commission and the other four institutions. In the treaty, it relates to a new democratic and legal concept, the Founding Fathers of the European Community and the present European Union said that supranationalism was the cornerstone of the governmental system. This is enshrined in the Europe Declaration made on 18 April 1951 and this Europe remains open to all nations. We profoundly hope that other nations will join us in our common endeavour and it was made to recall future generations to their historic duty of uniting Europe based on liberty and democracy under the rule of law. Thus, they viewed the creation of a wider and deeper Europe as intimately bound to the development of the supranational or Community system. This Europe was open to all nations who were free to decide, a supranational union is a supranational polity which lies somewhere between a confederation that is an association of States and a federation that is a state. The EU has supranational competences, but it possesses these competences only to the extent that they are conferred on it by its member states. Within the scope of competences, the union exercises its powers in a sovereign manner, having its own legislative, executive. The supranational Community also has a chamber for organised civil society including economic and social associations, unlike states in a federal super-state, member states retain ultimate sovereignty, although some sovereignty is shared with, or ceded to, the supranational body. Supranational agreements encourage stability and trust, because governments cannot break international accords at a whim, the supranational action may be time-limited. This was the case with the European Coal and Steel Community, supranational accords may be permanent, such as an agreement to outlaw war between the partners

8.
Empire
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An empire can be made solely of contiguous territories such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or of territories far remote from the homeland, such as a colonial empire. Aside from the formal usage, the term empire can also be used to refer to a large-scale business enterprise. The term empire is associated with words such as imperialism, colonialism. Empire is often used to describe a displeasure to overpowering situations, the former method provides greater tribute and direct political control, yet limits further expansion because it absorbs military forces to fixed garrisons. The latter method provides less tribute and indirect control, but avails military forces for further expansion, territorial empires tend to be contiguous areas. The term, on occasion, has applied to maritime empires or thalassocracies, with looser structures. Empires are usually larger than kingdoms and this aspiration to universality resulted in conquest by converting ‘outsiders’ or ‘inferiors’ into the colonialized religion. This association of nationality and race became complex and has had an intense drive for expansion. An empire is a multi-ethnic or multinational state with political and/or military dominion of populations who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the ethnic group. This is in contrast to a federation, which is a state voluntarily composed of autonomous states and peoples. An empire is a political party who rules over territories outside of its original borders. Definitions of what physically and politically constitute an empire vary and it might be a state affecting imperial policies or a particular political structure. Empires are typically formed from ethnic, national, cultural. Empire and colonialism are used to refer to relationships between powerful state or society versus a less powerful one, sometimes, an empire is a semantic construction, such as when a ruler assumes the title of emperor. That rulers nation logically becomes an empire, despite having no additional territory or hegemony, among the last of the empires in the 20th century were the Central African Empire, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Manchukuo, the German Empire, and Korea. Furthermore, empires can expand by both land and sea, Empires originated as different types of states, although they commonly began as powerful monarchies. Ideas about empires have changed over time, ranging from public approval to universal distaste, Empires are built out of separate units with some kind of diversity – ethnic, national, cultural, religious – and imply at least some inequality between the rulers and the ruled. Without this inequality, the system would be seen as commonwealth, many empires were the result of military conquest, incorporating the vanquished states into a political union, but imperial hegemony can be established in other ways

9.
Hegemony
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Hegemony is the political, economic, or military predominance or control of one state over others. In ancient Greece, hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states, the dominant state is known as the hegemon. In the 19th century, hegemony came to denote the Social or cultural predominance or ascendancy, later, it could be used to mean a group or regime which exerts undue influence within a society. In contrast to authoritarian rule, cultural hegemony is hegemonic only if those affected by it also consent to and struggle over its common sense. From the post-classical Latin word hegemonia, from 1513 or earlier, or the Greek word ἡγεμονία, meaning authority, rule, political supremacy, likewise, the role of Athens within the short-lived Delian League was that of a hegemon. Ancient historians such as Xenophon and Ephorus were the first who used the term in its modern sense. In Ancient East Asia, Chinese hegemony existed during the Spring and Autumn period and they were appointed by feudal lord conferences, and thus were nominally obliged to uphold the imperium of the Zhou Dynasty over the subordinate states. 1st and 2nd century Europe was dominated by the peace of the Pax Romana. It was instituted by the emperor Augustus, and was accompanied by a series of military campaigns. From the 7th century to the 12th century, the Umayyad Caliphate and later Abbasid Caliphate dominated the vast territories they governed, with other states like the Byzantine Empire paying tribute. In 7th century India, Harsha, ruler of an empire in northern India from 606 to 647 AD. He preferred not to rule as a government, but left conquered kings on their thrones and contenting himself with tribute. From the late 9th to the early 11th century, the empire developed by Charlemagne achieved hegemony in Europe, with dominance over France, Italy and he lists several contenders for historical hegemony. Based on Portugals dominance in navigation, based on Dutch control of credit and money. Based on British textiles and command of the high seas, based on British industrial supremacy and railroads. To this list could be added the hegemony of Habsburg Spain in 16th century Europe, however, after an attempt by Phillip IV to restore it, by the middle of the 17th century Spains pretensions to hegemony had definitely and irremediably failed. This, in turn, made possible the Amsterdam stock market, in France, King Louis XIV and Napoleon I attempted French hegemony via economic, cultural and military domination of most of Continental Europe. However, Jeremy Black writes that, because of Britain, France was unable to enjoy the benefits of this hegemony, Britain also controlled the Indian subcontinent and large portions of Africa

10.
Unitary state
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The majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government. Of the 193 UN member states,165 of them are governed as unitary states, unitary states are contrasted with federal states. In a unitary state, sub-national units are created and abolished, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an example of a unitary state. Many unitary states have no areas possessing a degree of autonomy, in such countries, sub-national regions cannot decide their own laws. Examples are the Republic of Ireland and the Kingdom of Norway, in federal states, the sub-national governments share powers with the central government as equal actors through a written constitution, to which the consent of both is required to make amendments. This means that the units have a right of existence. The United States of America is an example of a federal state, under the U. S. Constitution, powers are shared between the federal government and the states

11.
Administrative division
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Administrative divisions are granted a certain degree of autonomy and are usually required to manage themselves through their own local governments. Countries are divided up into smaller units to make managing their land. For example, a country may be divided into provinces, which, in turn, are divided into counties, which, in turn, may be divided in whole or in part into municipalities, and so on. Administrative divisions are separate from dependent territories, with the former being an integral part of the state. However, the administrative division can include dependent territories as well as accepted administrative divisions. For clarity and convenience the standard reference for the largest administrative subdivision of a country is called the first-level administrative division or first administrative level. Next smaller is called second-level administrative division or second administrative level, there is no fixed rule, for all politics is local as is perhaps well demonstrated by their relative lack of systemic order. In the realm of self-government, any of these can and does occur along a stretch of road—which for the most part is passing through rural unsettled countryside. In British cultural legacy, most territorial entities begin with fairly expansive counties which encompass a large area. Within those entities are the large and small cities or towns, many sister cities share a water boundary which quite often serves as a border of both cities and counties. For example, Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts appear to the traveler as one large city, while locally they each are quite culturally different. Sovereign state, a national or supra-national division, country, a national or sub-national division. Administrative division codes of the Peoples Republic of China GADM, a database of country administrative areas. ISO 3166-2, specifically Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 2

12.
French and Raven's bases of power
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In a notable study of power conducted by social psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram Raven in 1959, power is divided into five separate and distinct forms. In 1965 Raven revised this model to include a form by separating the informational power base as distinct from the expert power base. Relating to social studies, power in social influence settings has introduced a large realm of research pertaining to persuasion tactics. Through social communication studies, it has been theorized that leadership and it has been further presumed that different forms of power affect ones leadership and success. This idea is used often in organizational communication and throughout the workforce, in a notable study of power conducted by social psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram Raven in 1959, power is divided into five separate and distinct forms. They identified those five bases of power as coercive, reward, legitimate, referent and this was followed by Ravens subsequent identification in 1965 of a sixth separate and distinct base of power, informational power. Whereby, this is to be considered power in social influential situations, since then, the model has gone through very significant developments, coercion and reward can have personal as well as impersonal forms. Expert and referent power can be negative or positive, Legitimate power, in addition to position power, may be based on other normative obligations, reciprocity, equity, and responsibility. Information may be utilized in direct or indirect fashion, the French-Raven power forms are introduced with consideration of the level of observability and the extent to which power is dependent or independent of structural conditions. Using these considerations it is possible to link personal processes to structural conditions, French and Raven defined social power as the potential for influence (a change in the belief, attitude or behavior of a someone who is the target of influence. As we know leadership and power are closely linked and this model shows how the different forms of power affect ones leadership and success. This idea is used often in organizational communication and throughout the workforce, the French-Raven power forms are introduced with consideration of the level of observability and the extent to which power is dependent or independent of structural conditions. Dependency refers to the degree of internalization that occurs among persons subject to social control, using these considerations it is possible to link personal processes to structural conditions. The bases of power have evolved over the years with benefits coming from advanced research. On the basis of research and evidence, there have many other developments. French and Raven developed an original model outlining the change dependencies, though it is a common understanding that most social influence can still be understood by the original six bases of power, the foundational bases have been elaborated and further differentiated. Further Differentiating the Bases of Social Power As mentioned above, there are now six main concepts of power strategies consistently studied in social communication research and they are described as Coercive, Reward, Legitimate, Referent, Expert, and Informational. Additionally, research has shown that source credibility has an effect on the bases of power used in persuasion

13.
Democracy
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Democracy, in modern usage, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament. Democracy is sometimes referred to as rule of the majority, Democracy was originally conceived in Classical Greece, where political representatives were chosen by a jury from amongst the male citizens, rich and poor. The English word dates to the 16th century, from the older Middle French, in the 5th century BC, to denote the political systems then existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens, the term is an antonym to aristocracy, meaning rule of an elite. While theoretically these definitions are in opposition, in practice the distinction has been blurred historically, the political system of Classical Athens, for example, granted democratic citizenship to free men and excluded slaves and women from political participation. In 1906, Finland became the first government to harald a more inclusive democracy at the national level. Democracy contrasts with forms of government where power is held by an individual, as in an absolute monarchy, or where power is held by a small number of individuals. Nevertheless, these oppositions, inherited from Greek philosophy, are now ambiguous because contemporary governments have mixed democratic, oligarchic, and monarchic elements. Karl Popper defined democracy in contrast to dictatorship or tyranny, thus focusing on opportunities for the people to control their leaders, No consensus exists on how to define democracy, but legal equality, political freedom and rule of law have been identified as important characteristics. These principles are reflected in all eligible citizens being equal before the law, other uses of democracy include that of direct democracy. In some countries, notably in the United Kingdom which originated the Westminster system, in the United States, separation of powers is often cited as a central attribute. In India, parliamentary sovereignty is subject to the Constitution of India which includes judicial review, though the term democracy is typically used in the context of a political state, the principles also are applicable to private organisations. Majority rule is listed as a characteristic of democracy. Hence, democracy allows for political minorities to be oppressed by the tyranny of the majority in the absence of legal protections of individual or group rights. An essential part of a representative democracy is competitive elections that are substantively and procedurally fair, i. e. just. It has also suggested that a basic feature of democracy is the capacity of all voters to participate freely and fully in the life of their society. While representative democracy is sometimes equated with the form of government. Many democracies are constitutional monarchies, such as the United Kingdom, the term democracy first appeared in ancient Greek political and philosophical thought in the city-state of Athens during classical antiquity. The word comes from demos, common people and kratos, strength, led by Cleisthenes, Athenians established what is generally held as the first democracy in 508–507 BC

14.
Direct democracy
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Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide policy initiatives directly. This differs from the majority of democracies, which are representative democracies. Direct democracy is similar to, but distinct from, representative democracy, two leading forms of direct democracy are participatory democracy and deliberative democracy. Semi direct democracies in which representatives administer day-to-day governance, but the citizens remain the sovereign, the first two forms—referendums and initiatives—are examples of direct legislation. Compulsory referendum subjects the legislation drafted by political elites to a popular vote. This is the most common form of direct legislation, popular referendum empowers citizens to make a petition that calls existing legislation to a citizens vote. Institutions specify the frame for a valid petition and the number of signatures required. This form of direct democracy effectively grants the voting public a veto on laws adopted by the elected legislature, initiatives may be direct or indirect, With the direct initiative, a successful proposition is placed directly on the ballot to be subject to vote. Such a form of initiative is utilized by Switzerland for constitutional amendments. Power of Recall gives the public the power to elected officials from office before the end of their term. Some of the most important modern thinkers who were inspired by the concept of democracy are Cornelius Castoriadis, Hannah Arendt. The earliest known direct democracy is said to be the Athenian democracy in the 5th century BC, although it was not a democracy, women, foreigners. There were only about 30,000 male citizens, but several thousand of them were active in each year. Modern democracies, being representative, not direct, do not resemble the Athenian system, also relevant to the history of direct democracy is the history of Ancient Rome, specifically the Roman Republic, beginning around 509 BC. Rome displayed many aspects of democracy, both direct and indirect, from the era of Roman monarchy all the way to the collapse of the Roman Empire. As to direct democracy, the ancient Roman Republic had a system of citizen lawmaking, or citizen formulation and passage of law, and a citizen veto of legislature-made law. Many historians mark the end of the Republic with the passage of a law named the Lex Titia,27 November 43 BC, modern-era citizen lawmaking began in the towns of Switzerland in the 13th century. In 1847, the Swiss added the statute referendum to their national constitution and they soon discovered that merely having the power to veto Parliaments laws was not enough

15.
Representative democracy
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Representative democracy is a type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy. Representative democracy is often presented as the most efficient form of democracy possible in mass societies and it arguably allows for efficient ruling by a sufficiently small number of people on behalf of the larger number. Government efficiency can be judged based on metric of cost effectiveness, representatives voting on behalf of the people allows for a monetary benefit as there is lessened use of polling stations, vote counters, etc. The government is responsible for paying for the wages of the representatives. This system of governance is also time efficient as decisions can be made by a select few and it is a system in which people elect their lawmakers, who are then held accountable to them for their activity within government. It has been described by political theorists including Robert A Dahl, Gregory Houston. In it the power is in the hands of the representatives who are elected by the people in elections. Representatives are elected by the public, as in elections for the national legislature. Elected representatives may hold the power to other representatives, presidents, or other officers of the government or of the legislature. The constitution may also provide for some deliberative democracy or direct popular measures, however, these are not always binding and usually require some legislative action—legal power usually remains firmly with representatives. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him, their opinion, high respect, their business, unremitted attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfactions, to theirs, and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiassed opinion, his judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man. These he does not derive from your pleasure, no, nor from the law and they are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you, not his only, but his judgment. The Roman Republic was the first government in the world to have a representative government. In Britain, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments, the first, in 1258, stripped the King of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns. Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England pioneered some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy culminating in the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution led to the creation of a new Constitution of the United States in 1787

16.
Liberal democracy
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Liberal democracy is a liberal political ideology and a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of classical liberalism. It is also called western democracy, to define the system in practice, liberal democracies often draw upon a constitution, either formally written or uncodified, to delineate the powers of government and enshrine the social contract. After a period of sustained expansion throughout the 20th century, liberal democracy became the predominant political system in the world, a liberal democracy may take various constitutional forms, it may be a constitutional monarchy or a republic. It may have a system, a presidential system, or a semi-presidential system. Liberal democracies usually have universal suffrage, granting all citizens the right to vote regardless of race. Historically, however, some regarded as liberal democracies have had a more limited franchise. There may also be such as voters being required to register before being allowed to vote. The decisions made through elections are not by all of the citizens. The liberal democratic constitution defines the character of the state. The purpose of a constitution is seen as a limit on the authority of the government. Liberal democracy emphasises the separation of powers, an independent judiciary, Liberal democracies are likely to emphasise the importance of the state being a Rechtsstaat, i. e. a state that follows the principle of rule of law. Governmental authority is exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedure. In practice, democracies do have limits on certain freedoms, there are various legal limitations such as copyright and laws against defamation. There may be limits on speech, on attempts to undermine human rights. In the United States more than in Europe, during the Cold War, now they are more commonly applied to organisations perceived as promoting actual terrorism or the incitement of group hatred. Examples include anti-terrorism legislation, the shutting down of Hezbollah satellite broadcasts, critics claim that these limitations may go too far and that there may be no due and fair judicial process. The common justification for these limits is that they are necessary to guarantee the existence of democracy, for example, allowing free speech for those advocating mass murder undermines the right to life and security. Opinion is divided on how far democracy can extend to include the enemies of democracy in the democratic process, if relatively small numbers of people are excluded from such freedoms for these reasons, a country may still be seen as a liberal democracy

17.
Social democracy
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In this period, social democrats embraced a mixed economy based on the predominance of private property, with only a minority of essential utilities and public services under public ownership. By 1868–1869, Marxism had become the official theoretical basis of the first social democratic party established in Europe, in this period, social democracy became associated with reformist socialism. The origins of social democracy have been traced to the 1860s, with the rise of the first major party in Europe. 1864 saw the founding of the International Workingmens Association, also known as the First International, another issue in the First International was the role of reformism. Although Lassalle was not a Marxist, he was influenced by the theories of Marx and Engels, however unlike Marxs and Engelss The Communist Manifesto, Lassalle promoted class struggle in a more moderate form. While Marx viewed the state negatively as an instrument of class rule that should only exist temporarily upon the rise to power of the proletariat and then dismantled, Lassalle accepted the state. Lassalle viewed the state as a means through which workers could enhance their interests, Lassalles strategy was primarily electoral and reformist, with Lassalleans contending that the working class needed a political party that fought above all for universal adult male suffrage. The ADAVs party newspaper was called Der Sozialdemokrat, Marx and Engels responded to the title Sozialdemocrat with distaste, Engels once writing, But what a title, Sozialdemokrat. Why dont they simply call it The Proletarian. Marx agreed with Engels that Sozialdemokrat was a bad title, there was a Marxist faction within the ADAV represented by Wilhelm Liebknecht who became one of the editors of the Die Sozialdemokrat. Friction in the ADAV arose over Lassalles policy of an approach to Bismarck that had assumed incorrectly that Bismarck in turn would be friendly towards them. This approach was opposed by the partys Marxists, including Liebknecht, opposition in the ADAV to Lassalles friendly approach to Bismarcks government resulted in Liebknecht resigning from his position as editor of Die Sozialdemokrat and leaving the ADAV in 1865. Though the SDAP was not officially Marxist, it was the first major organization to be led by Marxists and Marx. The party adopted stances similar to those adopted by Marx at the First International, there was intense rivalry and antagonism between the SDAP and the ADAV, with the SDAP being highly hostile to the Prussian government while the ADAV pursued a reformist and more cooperative approach. In spite of such militant rhetoric to appeal to the working class, in 1875 Marx attacked the Gotha Program that became the program of Social Democratic Party of Germany in the same year in his Critique of the Gotha Program. Marx was not optimistic that Germany at the time was not open to a means to achieve socialism. In addition he noticed a change over the relations between the two classes. The Reform Acts of 1867 and 1884 make an approach to universal suffrage. The Fabian Society was founded as a group from the Fellowship of the New Life due to opposition within that group to socialism

18.
Aristocracy
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Aristocracy is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning rule of the best, at the time of the words origins in Ancient Greece, the Greeks conceived it as rule by the best qualified citizens—and often contrasted it favourably with monarchy, rule by an individual. In later times, aristocracy was usually seen as rule by a group, the aristocratic class. The Greeks did not like the concept of monarchy, and as their democratic system fell, in Ancient Rome, the Republic consisted of an aristocracy—as well as consuls, a senate, and a tribal assembly. In the Middle Ages and early modern era, aristocracies primarily consisted of an aristocratic class, privileged by birth. Since the French Revolution, aristocracy has generally been contrasted with democracy, however, this distinction is often oversimplified. In exchange feudal aid is received from tenants or vassals, oaths of military allegiance, however an oligarchy, nobility or royalty had the right to set taxes, assemble or raise armies and command loyalty by virtue of traditional authority. In the 1651 book Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes describes an aristocracy as a commonwealth in which the representative of the citizens is an assembly by part and it is a system in which only a small part of the population represents the government. Modern depictions of aristocracy tend to regard it not as the ancient Greek concept of rule by the best, history, John Cannon, Oxford University Press,1997, ISBN 978-0-19-866176-4 Aristocracy in the Modern World, Ellis Wasson, Palgrave Macmillan,2006

19.
Geniocracy
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Geniocracy is the framework for a system of government which was first proposed by Raël in 1977 and which advocates problem-solving and creative intelligence as criteria for governance. The term geniocracy comes from the genius, and describes a system that is designed to select for intelligence. The thresholds proposed by the Raëlians are 50% above the mean for an electoral candidate and this method of selectivity is deliberate so as to address what the concept considers to be flaws in the current systems of democracy. The primary object of criticism is the inability of majoritarian consensus to provide a platform for intelligent decision making for the purpose of solving problems permanently. In this respect, Geniocracy derides Liberal Democracy as a form of Mediocracy, in a geniocracy Earth would be ruled by a worldwide Geniocratic government. In line with this, geniocracy proposes a different economic model called Economic Humanitarianism, primarily, this discrimination is against minors, incarcerated felons, and the mentally incapacitated. This is on the basis that their ability to contribute to the making process is either flawed or invalid for the purpose of the society. The current difficulty in the ideas of geniocracy is that the means of assessing intelligence are ill-defined and they should be designed to measure intellectual potential rather than accumulation of knowledge. Other components deemed necessary for a rounded understanding of intelligence include concepts like emotional intelligence. As such, geniocracys validity cannot really be assessed until better, the lack of scientific rigour necessary for inclusion of geniocracy as properly testable political ideology can be noted in number of modern and historical dictatorships as well as oligarchies. Because of the controversies surrounding geniocracy, Raël presents the idea as a utopia or provocative ideal. The author of Geniocracy recommends a world government with 12 regions, inhabitants would vote for which region they want to be part of. After the regions are defined, they are divided into 12 sectors after the same principle of democracy is applied. While sectors of the region are defined as having equal numbers of inhabitants, the regions themselves may have different levels of population. Idiocracy, a comedy film depicting the United States in 2505 where the vast majority are mentally backwards despite widespread use of IQ tests. Platos Republic Meritocracy Netocracy Noocracy Transhumanism Technocracy Palmer, Susan J. Geniocracy, Geniocracy. org Geniocracy Review on RaelNews Geniocracy piece on RaelRadio Geniocracy is the solution - article on Raelnews

20.
Despotism
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Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, the English dictionary defines despotism as the rule of a despot, the exercise of absolute authority. The root despot comes from the Greek word despotes, which means master or one with power, the term has been used to describe many rulers and governments throughout history. Due to its reflexive connotation throughout history, the word despot cannot be objectively defined, colloquially, the word despot applies pejoratively to those who abuse their power and authority to oppress their populace, subjects, or subordinates. More specifically, the term applies to a head of state or government. In this sense, it is similar to the connotations that are associated with the terms tyrant. Of all the ancient Greeks, Aristotle was perhaps the most influential promoter of the concept of oriental despotism. He passed this ideology to his student, Alexander the Great, who conquered Persia, which at the time was ruled by the despotic Darius III, Aristotle asserted that oriental despotism was not based on force, but on consent. Hence, fear could not be said to be its motivating force, but rather the nature of those enslaved. Within ancient Greek society, every Greek man was free and capable of holding office, in contrast, among the barbarians, all were slaves by nature. Another difference Aristotle espoused was based on climates, possessing both spirit and intelligence, the Greeks were free to govern all other peoples. The story of Croesus of Lydia exemplifies this, leading up to Alexanders expansion into Asia, most Greeks were repelled by the Oriental notion of a sun-king, and the divine law that Oriental societies accepted. Herodotuss version of history advocated a society where men became free when they consented lawfully to the contract of their respective city-state. His eyebrows were tinged with black, and his cheeks painted with an artificial red, in its classical form, despotism is a state in which a single individual holds all the power and authority embodying the state, and everyone else is a subsidiary person. This form of despotism was common in the first forms of statehood and civilization, the word itself seems to have been coined by the opponents of Louis XIV of France in the 1690s, who applied the term despotisme to describe their monarchs somewhat free exercise of power. The word is ultimately Greek in origin, and in ancient Greek usage, the term now implies tyrannical rule. This movement was probably triggered by the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu believed that despotism was a government for large states

21.
Dictatorship
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A dictatorship is a type of authoritarianism, in which politicians regulate nearly every aspect of the public and private behavior of citizens. Dictatorship and totalitarianism societies generally employ political propaganda to decrease the influence of proponents of alternative governing systems, in the past different religious tactics were used by the dictators to maintain their rule. Like the Monarchy system in the west, in the 19th and 20th centuries, traditional monarchies gradually declined and disappeared. Dictatorship and constitutional democracy emerged as the two major forms of government. Since World War II a broader range of dictatorships have been recognized including Third World dictatorships, theocratic or religious dictatorships, in the Roman Empire, a Roman dictator was the incumbent of a political office of legislate of the Roman Republic. Roman dictators were allocated absolute power during times of emergency and their power was originally neither arbitrary nor unaccountable, being subject to law and requiring retrospective justification. There were no such dictatorships after the beginning of the 2nd century BC, and later such as Sulla. After the collapse of Spanish colonial rule, various dictators came to power in many liberated countries, such dictators have been also referred to as personalismo. The wave of military dictatorships in Latin America in the half of the twentieth century left a particular mark on Latin American culture. In Latin American literature, the dictator novel challenging dictatorship and caudillismo is a significant genre, there are also many films depicting Latin American military dictatorships. After World War II, dictators established themselves in the new states of Africa and Asia. These constitutions often failed to work without a middle class or work against the preexisting autocratic rule. Some elected presidents and prime ministers captured power by suppressing the opposition and installing one-party rule, whatever their form, these dictatorships had an adverse impact on economic growth and the quality of political institutions. Dictators who stayed in office for a time period found it increasingly difficult to carry out sound economic policies. The often-cited exploitative dictator is the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, the global dynamics of democratization has been a central question for political scientists. The Third Wave Democracy was said to turn some dictatorships into democracies, the DD index is seen as an example of the minimalist approach, whereas the Polity data series, relatively more substantive. The most general term is despotism, a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power and that entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy. Despotism can mean tyranny, or absolutism, or dictatorship, dictatorship may take the form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism

22.
Anarchy
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Anarchy is the condition of a society, entity, group of people, or a single person that rejects hierarchy. The term originally meant leaderlessness, but in 1840, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted the term in his treatise What Is Property, to refer to a new political philosophy, anarchism, which advocates stateless societies based on voluntary associations. In practical terms, anarchy can refer to the curtailment or abolition of traditional forms of government and it could also mean a nation or anywhere on earth that is inhabited, that has no system of government or central rule. The word anarchy comes from the ancient Greek ἀναρχία, which combines ἀ, not, without and ἀρχή, ruler, leader, thus, the term refers to a person or society without rulers or without leaders. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant treated anarchy in his Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View as consisting of Law and Freedom without Force. Thus, for Kant, anarchy falls short of being a civil state because the law is only an empty recommendation if force is not included to make this law efficacious. For there to be such a state, force must be included while law and freedom are maintained, Kant identified four kinds of government, Law and freedom without force. Anarchism is a philosophy that advocates self-governed societies based on voluntary institutions. These are often described as stateless societies, although several authors have defined them more specifically as institutions based on non-hierarchical free associations, Anarchism holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, or harmful. While anti-statism is central, anarchism entails opposing authority or hierarchical organisation in the conduct of all relations, including, but not limited to. There are many types and traditions of anarchism, not all of which are mutually exclusive, Anarchist schools of thought can differ fundamentally, supporting anything from extreme individualism to complete collectivism. Strains of anarchism have been divided into the categories of social, some individualist anarchists are also socialists or communists while some anarcho-communists are also individualists or egoists. Anarchism as a movement has regularly endured fluctuations in popularity. Since the 1890s, the term libertarianism has been used as a synonym for anarchism and was used almost exclusively in this sense until the 1950s in the United States, right-libertarians are divided into minarchists and anarcho-capitalists or voluntarists. Outside the English-speaking world, libertarianism generally retains its association with left-wing anarchism, many of these societies can be considered to be anarchic in the sense that they explicitly reject the idea of centralized political authority. The egalitarianism typical of human hunter-gatherers is interesting when viewed in an evolutionary context, one of humanitys two closest primate relatives, the chimpanzee, is anything but egalitarian, forming hierarchies that are dominated by alpha males. In Society Against the State Pierre Clastres examines stateless societies where cultural practices and attitudes avert the development of hierarchy. He dismisses the notion that the state is the outcome of the evolution of human societies

23.
Theocracy
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Theocracy is a form of government in which a deity is the source from which all authority derives. The Oxford English Dictionary has this definition,1, a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god. The commonwealth of Israel from the time of Moses until the election of Saul as King, an ecclesiocracy is a situation where the religious leaders assume a leading role in the state, but do not claim that they are instruments of divine revelation. For example, the prince-bishops of the European Middle Ages, where the bishop was also the temporal ruler, religiously endorsed monarchies fall between theocracy and ecclesiocracy, according to the relative strengths of the religious and political organs. Most forms of theocracy are oligarchic in nature, involving rule of the many by the few, some of whom so anointed under claim of divine commission. In some religions, the ruler, usually a king, was regarded as the favorite of God who could not be questioned, sometimes even being the descendant of. Today, there is also a form of government where clerics have the power, taken literally or strictly, theocracy means rule by God or gods and refers primarily to an internal rule of the heart, especially in its biblical application. The common, generic use of the term, as defined above in terms of rule by a church or analogous religious leadership, in a pure theocracy, the civil leader is believed to have a personal connection with the civilizations religion or belief. For example, Moses led the Israelites, and Muhammad led the early Muslims, there is a fine line between the tendency of appointing religious characters to run the state and having a religious-based government. According to the Holy Books, Prophet Joseph was offered an essential governmental role just because he was trustworthy, wise and knowledgeable. As a result of the Prophet Josephs knowledge and also due to his ethical and genuine efforts during a critical economic situation, when religions have a holy book, it is used as a direct message from God. Law proclaimed by the ruler is also considered a divine revelation, as to the Prophet Muhammad ruling, The first thirteen of the Prophets twenty-three year career went on totally apolitical and non-violent. Yet, interestingly, the Prophet did not establish a theocracy in Medina, instead of a polity defined solely by Islam, he founded a territorial polity based on religious pluralism. This is evident in a document called the ’Charter of Medina’, according to the Quran, Prophets were not after power or material resources. ”While, in theocracy many aspects of the holy book are overshadowed by material powers. Due to be considered divine, the regime entitles itself to interpret verses to its own benefit and abuse them out of the context for its political aims. An ecclesiocracy, on the hand, is a situation where the religious leaders assume a leading role in the state. For example, the prince-bishops of the European Middle Ages, where the bishop was also the temporal ruler, religiously endorsed monarchies fall between these two poles, according to the relative strengths of the religious and political organs. Theocracy is distinguished from other, secular forms of government that have a religion, or are influenced by theological or moral concepts

24.
Republicanism
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Republicanism is an ideology of being a citizen in a state as a republic under which the people hold popular sovereignty. Many countries are republics in the sense that they are not monarchies, however, this article covers only the ideology of republicanism. This form of government collapsed in the part of the 1st century BCE, giving way to what was a monarchy in form. Republics revived subsequently, with, for example, Renaissance Florence or early modern Britain, the concept of a republic became a powerful force in Britains North American colonies where it led to the American Revolution. In Europe, it gained influence through the French Revolution. In Ancient Greece, several philosophers and historians analysed and described elements we now recognize as classical republicanism, traditionally, the Greek concept of politeia was rendered into Latin as res publica. Consequently, political theory until relatively recently often used republic in the sense of regime. There is no single written expression or definition from this era that exactly corresponds with an understanding of the term republic. However, most of the features of the modern definition are present in the works of Plato, Aristotle. These include theories of mixed government and of civic virtue, for example, in The Republic, Plato places great emphasis on the importance of civic virtue together with personal virtue on the part of the ideal rulers. Indeed, in Book V, Plato asserts that until rulers have the nature of philosophers or philosophers become the rulers, there can be no civic peace or happiness. Aristotle considered Carthage to have been a republic as it had a system similar to that of some of the Greek cities, notably Sparta. Some of this history, composed more than 500 years after the events, with scant written sources to rely on, Polybius exerted a great influence on Cicero as he wrote his politico-philosophical works in the 1st century BCE. In one of works, De re publica, Cicero linked the Roman concept of res publica to the Greek politeia. However, the term republic, despite its derivation, is not synonymous with the Roman res publica. This Roman Republic would, by an understanding of the word, still be defined as a true republic. Thus, Enlightenment philosophers saw the Roman Republic as an ideal system, several offices from the republican era, held by individuals, were combined under the control of a single person. These changes became permanent, and gradually conferred sovereignty on the Emperor, ciceros description of the ideal state, in De re publica, does not equate to a modern-day republic, it is more like enlightened absolutism

25.
Absolute monarchy
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Absolute monarchy, or despotic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority that is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs. These are often, but not always, hereditary monarchies, in contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of states authority derives from and is legally bounded or restricted by a constitution or legislature. Some monarchies have weak or symbolic legislatures and other bodies that the monarch can alter or dissolve at will. Countries where a monarch still maintains absolute power are Brunei, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the individual emirates composing the United Arab Emirates, Swaziland, in Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh wielded absolute power over the country and was considered a living god by his people. In ancient Mesopotamia, many rulers of Assyria, Babylonia and Sumer were absolute monarchs as well, in ancient and medieval India, rulers of the Maurya, Satahavana, Gupta and Chalukya Empires, as well as other major and minor empires, were considered absolute monarchs. In the Khmer Empire, the kings were called Devaraja and Chakravartin, in Kingdom of Siam, the kings were esestablished Somburanaya-sittiraj. Throughout Chinese history, many emperors and one empress wielded absolute power through the Mandate of Heaven, in pre-Columbian America, the Inca Empire was ruled by a Sapa Inca, who was considered the son of Inti, the sun god and absolute ruler over the people and nation. Throughout much of European history, the right of kings was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European monarchs, such as those of Russia, claimed supreme autocratic power by right. James VI of Scotland and his son Charles I of Scotland and England tried to import this principle, there is a considerable variety of opinion by historians on the extent of absolutism among European monarchs. Some, such as Perry Anderson, argue that quite a few monarchs achieved levels of absolutist control over their states, a widely held story about Louis XIV of France is that he proclaimed Létat, cest moi. What Louis did say was, The interests of the state come first, when one gives these priority, one labors for ones own good. These advantages to the state redounds to ones glory, although often criticized for his extravagances, such as the Palace of Versailles, he reigned over France for a long period, and some historians consider him a successful absolute monarch. More recently, revisionist historians have questioned whether Louis reign should be considered absolute, the King of France concentrated in his person legislative, executive, and judicial powers. He was the judicial authority. He could condemn men to death without the right of appeal and it was both his duty to punish offenses and stop them from being committed. From his judicial authority followed his power both to make laws and to annul them and this law consequently authorized the king to abolish all other centers of power. Most important was the abolition of the Council of the Realm and his actions largely originated the militaristic streak of the Hohenzollern

26.
Legalism (Chinese philosophy)
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Fǎ-Jiā or Legalism is one of the six classical schools of thought in Chinese philosophy that developed during the Warring States period. Much of Legalism was principally the development of ideas that lay behind his reforms. The grouping together of thinkers that would eventually be dubbed Fa-Jia or Legalists can be traced to Han Fei, written around 240 BC, the Han Feizi is commonly thought of as the greatest of all Legalist texts, bringing together his predecessors ideas into a coherent ideology. They attracted the attention of the First Emperor, and are believed to contain the first commentaries on the Tao te Ching in history and it is often said that succeeding emperors followed the template set by Han Fei. The Han dynasty took over the institutions of the Qin dynasty almost unchanged. Endorsement for this school of thought peaked under Mao Zedong, hailed as a progressive intellectual current and they owed allegiance to the local prince, who owed allegiance to the Son of Heaven. The Zhou operated according to the principles of Li and punishment, the former was applied only to aristocrats, the latter only to commoners. The earliest Zhou kings kept a personal hand on the government, depending on their personal capacities. The technique of centralized government being so little developed, they deputed authority to feudal lords, when the Zhou kings could no longer grant new fiefs, their power began to decline, vassals began to identify with their own regions, and schismatic hostility occurred between the Chinese states. Aristocratic families became very important, by virtue of their ancestral prestige wielding great power, for the Confucians, the Classics provided the preconditions for knowledge. For Xun Kuang they contained the logical categories on which knowledge of things was based, orthodox Confucians tended to consider organizational details beneath both minister and ruler, leaving such matters to underlings, and furthermore wanted ministers to control the ruler. Concerned with goodness, the Confucians became the most prominent, followed by the Taoists and reformers that Sima Tan termed the Fa-Jia. But the Taoists focused on the development of powers. A new type of ruler emerged intent on breaking the power of the aristocrats and those that failed were conquered or deposed. As disenfranchised or opportunist aristocrats were increasingly attracted by the reform-oriented rulers, Shang Yang was a leading reformer of his time, concerned largely with administrative and sociopolitical innovation. Considering the power struggle between ruler and minister irreconcilable, they insist on impersonal norms and regulations in their relations, though Han Fei considers people naturally self-interested, he suggests that “Once law and decrees prevail, the way of selfishness collapses. Han Feis prince must make use of Fa, surround himself with an aura of wei and shi, the ruler who follows Tao moves away from benevolence and righteousness, and discards reason and ability, subduing the people through Fa. Only an absolute ruler can restore the world, the belief in the necessity of an absolute monarch for the attainment of stability and order is common to most political theorists of the Warring States period

27.
Constitutional monarchy
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A constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the sovereign exercises their authorities in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution. A constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the acts as a non-party political head of state under the constitution. Political scientist Vernon Bogdanor, paraphrasing Thomas Macaulay, has defined a constitutional monarch as a sovereign who reigns, in addition to acting as a visible symbol of national unity, a constitutional monarch may hold formal powers such as dissolving parliament or giving royal assent to legislation. Many constitutional monarchies still retain significant authorities or political influence however, such as through certain reserve powers, the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms are all constitutional monarchies in the Westminster tradition of constitutional governance. Three states – Malaysia, Cambodia and the Holy See – are elective monarchies, the oldest constitutional monarchy dating back to ancient times was that of the Hittites. These were scattered noble families that worked as representatives of their subjects in an adjutant or subaltern federal-type landscape, the most recent country to move from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy was Bhutan, between 2007 and 2008. At the same time, in Scotland the Convention of Estates enacted the Claim of Right Act 1689, although Queen Anne was the last monarch to veto an Act of Parliament when in 1707 she blocked the Scottish Militia Bill, Hanoverian monarchs continued to selectively dictate government policies. For instance George III constantly blocked Catholic Emancipation, eventually precipitating the resignation of William Pitt the Younger as Prime Minister in 1801, Queen Victoria was the last monarch to exercise real personal power but this diminished over the course of her reign. In 1839 she became the last sovereign to keep a Prime Minister in power against the will of Parliament when the Bedchamber crisis resulted in the retention of Lord Melbournes administration, today, the role of the British monarch is by convention effectively ceremonial. No person may accept significant public office without swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen, with few exceptions, the monarch is bound by constitutional convention to act on the advice of the Government. Constitutional monarchy also occurred briefly in the years of the French Revolution. As originally conceived, a monarch was head of the executive branch and quite a powerful figure even though his or her power was limited by the constitution. In many cases the monarchs, while still at the top of the political and social hierarchy, were given the status of servants of the people to reflect the new. In the course of Frances July Monarchy, Louis-Philippe I was styled King of the French rather than King of France, following the Unification of Germany, Otto von Bismarck rejected the British model. However this model of constitutional monarchy was discredited and abolished following Germanys defeat in the First World War. Later, Fascist Italy could also be considered as a constitutional monarchy and this eventually discredited the Italian monarchy and led to its abolition in 1946. After the Second World War, surviving European monarchies almost invariably adopted some variant of the constitutional monarchy model originally developed in Britain, nowadays a parliamentary democracy that is a constitutional monarchy is considered to differ from one that is a republic only in detail rather than in substance. However, three important factors distinguish monarchies such as the United Kingdom from systems where greater power might otherwise rest with Parliament, other privileges may be nominal or ceremonial

28.
Directorial system
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A directorial republic is a country ruled by a college of several people who jointly exercise the powers of a head of state or a head of government. This system of government is in contrast both with presidential republics and parliamentary republics, in political history, the term directory, in French directoire, is applied to high collegial institutions of state composed of members styled director. The most important of these by far was the Directory of 1795–1799 in France, the system was inspired by the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, which prominently featured a collegial 12-member Supreme Executive Council with a primus inter pares President. Variants of this form of government, based on the French model, were established in the European regions conquered by France during the French Revolutionary Wars. In the past, Uruguay, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, and other countries were ruled by directories, the government of the Soviet Union could in some ways be characterized as a directory, but it developed in a much different pattern discussed in the article on Communist states. The sole country now using this form of government is Switzerland, the Swiss Federal Council is elected by the Parliament for four years, and is composed of seven members, among whom one is President and one is Vice-President, although these are relatively symbolic. There is no relationship of confidence between Parliament and the Federal Council and it is a shared system of government that reflects and represents the heterogeneity and multiethnicity of the Swiss people. Direct popular elections are used at the local level, a Directorial System is a system of government in which the executive power is split a select number of individual who are, or de facto are, equals. Some have argued that such as Andorra are directorial as executive power is held between more than one person

29.
Semi-presidential
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A semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of a state. There are two subtypes of semi-presidentialism, premier-presidentialism and president-parliamentarism. Under the premier-presidential system, the minister and cabinet are exclusively accountable to parliament. The president chooses the prime minister and cabinet, but only the parliament may remove them from office with a vote of no confidence, the president does not have the right to dismiss the prime minister or the cabinet. However, in cases, the president can circumvent this limitation by exercising the discretionary power of dissolving the assembly. This subtype is used in Burkina Faso, France, Georgia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Niger, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. Under the president-parliamentary system, the minister and cabinet are dually accountable to the president. The president chooses the prime minister and the cabinet but must have the support of the parliament majority for his choice. In order to remove a prime minister or the cabinet from power. This form of semi-presidentialism is much closer to pure presidentialism and it is used in Armenia, Georgia between 2004 and 2013, Mozambique, Namibia, Russia, Taiwan and Ukraine between 1996 and 2005, and again from 2010 to 2014. It was used in Germany during the Weimarer Republik, as the regime between 1919 and 1933 is called unofficially. The powers that are divided between president and prime minister can vary greatly between countries and it is up to the president to decide, how much autonomy he leaves to his prime minister to act on his own. Semi-presidential systems may experience periods in which the President and the Prime Minister are from differing political parties. This is called cohabitation, a term originated in France when the situation first arose in the 1980s. In most cases, cohabitation results from a system in which the two executives are not elected at the time or for the same term. For example, in 1981, France elected both a Socialist president and legislature, which yielded a Socialist premier, but whereas the presidents term of office was for seven years, the National Assembly only served for five. When, in the 1986 legislative election, the French people elected a right-of-centre Assembly, however, in 2000, amendments to the French Constitution reduced the length of the French Presidents term from seven to five years. This has significantly lowered the chances of occurring, as parliamentary

Separatism
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A common definition of separatism is that it is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy. There is some debate about this definition, and in particular ho

1.
Eastern Ukraine 's separatism emerged as a reaction to the Euromaidan revolution

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Mural for Catalan independence in Belfast.

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OLF rebels in Kenya armed with AK-47 rifles.

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A Tuareg rebel fighter in northern Niger.

Dominion
–
Dominions were semi-independent polities under the British Crown, constituting the British Empire, beginning with Canadian Confederation in 1867. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State, and then from the late 1940s also India, Pakistan, and Ceylon. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 recognise

1.
Map of the British Empire under Queen Victoria at the end of the nineteenth century. "Dominions" refers to all territories belonging to the Crown.

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The Parliamentary Recruiting Committee produced this First World War poster. Designed by Arthur Wardle, the poster urges men from the Dominions of the British Empire to enlist in the war effort.

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Dominion of Canada Postage Stamp, 1898

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The prime ministers of Britain and the four major dominions at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. Left to right: William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada); Jan Smuts (South Africa); Winston Churchill (UK); Peter Fraser (New Zealand); John Curtin (Australia).

Federalism
–
Federalism is the mixed or compound mode of government, combining a general government with regional governments in a single political system. It can thus be defined as a form of government in there is a division of powers between two levels of government of equal status. Leading examples of the federation or federal state include the United States

1.
Satiric depiction of late 19th century political tensions in Spain

2.
Unitary states

Federation
–
A federation is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central government. The governmental or constitutional structure found in a federation is known as federalism and it can be considered the opposite of another system, the unitary state. Federations are often multiethnic and cover an are

1.
The United Provinces of Central America was a short-lived federal republic

2.
Unitary states

Confederation
–
The 44th World Science Fiction Convention, also known as ConFederation, was held August 28 through September 1,1986, at the Marriott Marquis and Atlanta Hilton in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The convention was co-chaired by Penny Frierson and Ron Zukowski, total attendance for the convention was reported as 5,811 members. The Guests of Honor were author

Devolution
–
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization, devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of

Supranational union
–
A supranational union is a type of multinational political union where negotiated power is delegated to an authority by governments of member states. The concept of union is sometimes used to describe the European Union. The EU is the entity which provides for international popular elections. The term supranational is used in a loose, undefined sen

Empire
–
An empire can be made solely of contiguous territories such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or of territories far remote from the homeland, such as a colonial empire. Aside from the formal usage, the term empire can also be used to refer to a large-scale business enterprise. The term empire is associated with words such as imperialism, colonialism.

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Maurya Empire of India at its greatest extent under Ashoka the Great

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Imperialism and colonization in 1900

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Han Empire of China in 87 BC.

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In the year 1690, the realms of the Mughal Empire spanned from Kabul to Cape Comorin.

Hegemony
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Hegemony is the political, economic, or military predominance or control of one state over others. In ancient Greece, hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states, the dominant state is known as the hegemon. In the 19th century, hegemony came to denote the Social or cultural predominance or ascendancy, lat

1.
Ancient Greece under the hegemony of Thebes, 371–362 BCE

Unitary state
–
The majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government. Of the 193 UN member states,165 of them are governed as unitary states, unitary states are contrasted with federal states. In a unitary state, sub-national units are created and abolished, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an example of a unitary stat

1.
Unitary states

Administrative division
–
Administrative divisions are granted a certain degree of autonomy and are usually required to manage themselves through their own local governments. Countries are divided up into smaller units to make managing their land. For example, a country may be divided into provinces, which, in turn, are divided into counties, which, in turn, may be divided

1.
World political divisions

French and Raven's bases of power
–
In a notable study of power conducted by social psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram Raven in 1959, power is divided into five separate and distinct forms. In 1965 Raven revised this model to include a form by separating the informational power base as distinct from the expert power base. Relating to social studies, power in social influence

1.
Blackbeard the infamous pirate

2.
Contents

3.
Queen Elizabeth II - 1953

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Reagans with Rev. Billy Graham

Democracy
–
Democracy, in modern usage, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament. Democracy is sometimes referred to as rule of the majority, Democracy was originally conceived in Classical Greece, where political representatives were ch

1.
A woman casts her vote in the second round of the 2007 French presidential election.

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Cleisthenes, "father of Athenian democracy ", modern bust.

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Magna Carta, 1215, England.

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The establishment of universal male suffrage in France in 1848 was an important milestone in the history of democracy.

Direct democracy
–
Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide policy initiatives directly. This differs from the majority of democracies, which are representative democracies. Direct democracy is similar to, but distinct from, representative democracy, two leading forms of direct democracy are participatory democracy and deliberative democracy. Se

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A Landsgemeinde, or assembly, of the Canton of Glarus, on 7 May 2006, Switzerland.

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In Switzerland, with no need to register, every citizen receives the ballot papers and information brochure for each vote, and can return it by post. Switzerland has various directly democratic instruments; votes are organised about four times a year.

Representative democracy
–
Representative democracy is a type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy. Representative democracy is often presented as the most efficient form of democracy possible in mass societies and it arguably allows for efficient ruling by a sufficiently small number of peo

Liberal democracy
–
Liberal democracy is a liberal political ideology and a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of classical liberalism. It is also called western democracy, to define the system in practice, liberal democracies often draw upon a constitution, either formally written or uncodified, to delineate the powers

1.
Eduskunta. Several nations and territories can present arguments for being the first with universal suffrage. The Grand Duchy of Finland had complete universal suffrage in 1906.

Social democracy
–
In this period, social democrats embraced a mixed economy based on the predominance of private property, with only a minority of essential utilities and public services under public ownership. By 1868–1869, Marxism had become the official theoretical basis of the first social democratic party established in Europe, in this period, social democracy

1.
Ferdinand Lassalle

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The red rose is a symbol of Social democracy.

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A barricade in Paris in March 1871, set up by revolutionary forces of the Paris Commune

4.
George Bernard Shaw

Aristocracy
–
Aristocracy is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning rule of the best, at the time of the words origins in Ancient Greece, the Greeks conceived it as rule by the best qualified citizens—and often contrasted it favourably with monarchy, rule by a

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Throughout the centuries kings of Poland were elected by the nobility in the fields outside Warsaw

Geniocracy
–
Geniocracy is the framework for a system of government which was first proposed by Raël in 1977 and which advocates problem-solving and creative intelligence as criteria for governance. The term geniocracy comes from the genius, and describes a system that is designed to select for intelligence. The thresholds proposed by the Raëlians are 50% above

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A series of articles on the Raëlian Movement

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The book cover of Rael 's book Geniocracy: Government of the People, for the People, by the Geniuses (Printed for the first time in English: 2008 Nova Distribution.)

Despotism
–
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, the English dictionary defines despotism as the rule of a despot, the exercise of absolute authority. The root despot comes from the Greek word despotes, which means master or one with pow

1.
The court of N'Gangue M'voumbe Niambi, from the book Description of Africa (1668)

Dictatorship
–
A dictatorship is a type of authoritarianism, in which politicians regulate nearly every aspect of the public and private behavior of citizens. Dictatorship and totalitarianism societies generally employ political propaganda to decrease the influence of proponents of alternative governing systems, in the past different religious tactics were used b

1.
Adolf Hitler (right) and Benito Mussolini (left). Hitler's policies and orders resulted in the death of about 11 million noncombatants.

Anarchy
–
Anarchy is the condition of a society, entity, group of people, or a single person that rejects hierarchy. The term originally meant leaderlessness, but in 1840, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted the term in his treatise What Is Property, to refer to a new political philosophy, anarchism, which advocates stateless societies based on voluntary associat

3.
Nestor Makhno (1918), the leader of the Anarchist Free Territory in Ukraine during the Russian Civil War.

Theocracy
–
Theocracy is a form of government in which a deity is the source from which all authority derives. The Oxford English Dictionary has this definition,1, a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god. The commonwealth of Israel from the time of Moses until the election of Saul as King, an ecclesiocracy is a situation where

1.
Caesar Augustus as Jove incarnate. The Roman Empire was, before Constantine, a quasi-theocracy. Opinion in both late antiquity and later history, however, regards negatively Emperors, such as Caligula and Domitian, who assumed that dignity in life. [citation needed] By contrast, each Pharaoh of Egypt, as Horus incarnate, son of Amun-Ra, Osiris in death, etc. (as in other cultures) was held to be a living god.

Republicanism
–
Republicanism is an ideology of being a citizen in a state as a republic under which the people hold popular sovereignty. Many countries are republics in the sense that they are not monarchies, however, this article covers only the ideology of republicanism. This form of government collapsed in the part of the 1st century BCE, giving way to what wa

1.
Thomas Paine

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A revolutionary republican hand-written bill from the Stockholm riots during the Revolutions of 1848, reading: "Dethrone Oscar he is not fit to be a king – rather the Republic! Reform! Down with the Royal house – long live Aftonbladet! Death to the king – Republic! Republic! – the people! Brunkeberg this evening." The writer's identity is unknown.

Absolute monarchy
–
Absolute monarchy, or despotic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority that is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs. These are often, but not always, hereditary monarchies, in contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of states authority derives from and is legally bounded or restricted

1.
Louis XIV of France

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Hassanal Bolkiah is the 29th and current Sultan of Brunei

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Salman, King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

Legalism (Chinese philosophy)
–
Fǎ-Jiā or Legalism is one of the six classical schools of thought in Chinese philosophy that developed during the Warring States period. Much of Legalism was principally the development of ideas that lay behind his reforms. The grouping together of thinkers that would eventually be dubbed Fa-Jia or Legalists can be traced to Han Fei, written around

1.
Statue of the legalist Shang Yang

Constitutional monarchy
–
A constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the sovereign exercises their authorities in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution. A constitutional monarchy may refer to a system in which the acts as a non-party political head of state under the constitution. Political scientist Vernon Bogdanor, paraphrasing Thomas Macaulay,

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Constitutional monarchies with representative parliamentary systems are shown in green. Other constitutional monarchies are shown in light green.

Directorial system
–
A directorial republic is a country ruled by a college of several people who jointly exercise the powers of a head of state or a head of government. This system of government is in contrast both with presidential republics and parliamentary republics, in political history, the term directory, in French directoire, is applied to high collegial insti

1.
Switzerland is the only contemporary country which maintains a directorial system of government.

Semi-presidential
–
A semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of a state. There are two subtypes of semi-presidentialism, premier-presidentialism and president-parliamentarism. Under the premier-presidential system, the minister and

1.
William Godwin, "the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his work".

2.
A sympathetic engraving by Walter Crane of the executed "Anarchists of Chicago" after the Haymarket affair. The Haymarket affair is generally considered the most significant event for the origin of international May Day observances.

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Italian-American anarchist Luigi Galleani. His followers, known as Galleanists, carried out a series of bombings and assassination attempts from 1914 to 1932 in what they saw as attacks on 'tyrants' and 'enemies of the people'

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A painting depicting George Washington at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution

2.
Detail from Hammurabi 's stele shows him receiving the laws of Babylon from the seated sun deity.

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The Bendery Constitution by Hetman Pylyp Orlyk.

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May 3rd Constitution (painting by Jan Matejko, 1891). Polish King Stanisław August (left, in regal ermine -trimmed cloak), enters St. John's Cathedral, where Sejm deputies will swear to uphold the new Constitution; in background, Warsaw's Royal Castle, where the Constitution has just been adopted.

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Dubai in 1950; the area in this photo shows Bur Dubai in the foreground (centered on Al-Fahidi Fort); Deira in middle-right on the other side of the creek; and Al Shindagha (left) and Al Ras (right) in the background across the creek again from Deira

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The interior of the west wing of the Federal Palace in Berne, where the Council meetings are held.

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This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. Please discuss this issue on the article's talk page. (April 2015)

1.
Clockwise from top left: Smithsonian Institution Building, Rock Creek Park, National Mall (including the Lincoln Memorial in the foreground), Howard Theatre and the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

2.
Map of the District of Columbia in 1835, prior to the retrocession

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Ford's Theatre in the 19th century, site of the 1865 assassination of President Lincoln

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Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool during the 1963 March on Washington